


Victories don’t have to come in gold

by Light_Voltage (MistRunner)



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Olympics, Free Skate (Figure Skating), M/M, Minor Do Kyungsoo | D.O/Park Chanyeol, Speed Skating
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-26
Updated: 2018-08-26
Packaged: 2019-07-02 23:00:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15806301
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MistRunner/pseuds/Light_Voltage
Summary: First and foremost, I am terribly sorry. I thought I could finish this in time, but then this thing got out of hand and it left me with no other choice but to cut it in two parts and hand in the first.Part one has around 10k of words and part two will probably end up with another 5-7k, I fear.As you can see dear prompter you inspired quite a lot in me ^^; Thank you so much for this prompt! It was (is) a pleasure to work on :) It's probably nothing like you imagined (I took some liberties, I apologise), but there you go.





	Victories don’t have to come in gold

**Author's Note:**

> First and foremost, I am terribly sorry. I thought I could finish this in time, but then this thing got out of hand and it left me with no other choice but to cut it in two parts and hand in the first.  
> Part one has around 10k of words and part two will probably end up with another 5-7k, I fear.
> 
> As you can see dear prompter you inspired quite a lot in me ^^; Thank you so much for this prompt! It was (is) a pleasure to work on :) It's probably nothing like you imagined (I took some liberties, I apologise), but there you go.

**❆Victories don’t have to come in gold❆**

 

The look of concentration on his face has been something Jongdae had admired for years. The way how his muscles tightened at the anticipation, his eyes narrowed, focused on the ice.  
The way Byun Baekhyun was as calm and as unmoving as a rock in that one second between the shout of the referee and the gunshot.

Jongdae had always admired the effort and pure talent of Byun Baekhyun, rising star of South Korea’s speed skater team.  
The brunet kept telling himself that he was only coming to the ice rink and watch their practices for his own benefit – after all, watching other athletes on the ice and how they prepared for their contests gave you experience and new impressions. New ideas on how to work on yourself.  
But he soon gave up with that. Not even his coach Heechul had believed him, so why lie to himself?

He wasn’t here to watch other athletes on the ice he loved so much – he was only here to watch Byun Baekhyun.  
His friend Chanyeol insisted that he has a crush on the other, but Jongdae isn’t quite sure if that was the right term for it. Not that Baekhyun was not worthy of such feelings. In contrary, he was talented, hard-working and handsome too.  
Still.  
Jongdae didn’t know him personally and though he might admit that he was attracted to him… could he not really describe his feelings. Not when he hadn’t even exchanged a single word with the skater. Perhaps, if he ever got to know him better…  
Chanyeol had rolled his eyes at his attempt of explaining his weird ‘obsession’ as the other called it. Had told him that crushes could happen no matter the personal level one shared with each other.  
Jongdae had just stuck out his tongue.  
For him, it was mostly admiration.

“You push yourself too hard…” Jongdae whispered, his body half-hidden behind one of the pillars that went up to the ceiling. He couldn’t be seen. First of all was he not a speed skater – yes, he was indeed a skater, but figure skating and speed skating were like fire and ice if you asked anyone in this department – and therefore was he not allowed to enter the building during practice sessions. And definitely not watch them. And yet, he came here as often as he could, watching Byun Baekhyun push himself to his limits.  
The young speed skater could never do something half-heartedly apparently. That was something Jongdae had learned very early about the other.  
His eyes followed the two skaters around the rink, watched their fluid movements as they asked for more and they kept pushing off the ice again and again, Baekhyun leading by quarter a round soon enough.  
His teeth were visible as he gritted them in frustration and Jongdae once again wondered what made the other try so hard.  
The black-haired athlete was already pretty good for his age and had easily qualified for the Olympic games that were just around the corner now. And still.

Both athletes crossed the finish line and Jongdae’s eyes went to the clock that displayed their times. By now he knew enough about speed skating to judge if a time was good or bad. And how the time ranked with Baekhyun’s personal bests.  
This hadn’t been bad. Not Baekhyun’s best but definitely good to keep up with the world’s elite.

“Again…” Jongdae breathed out as he already knew the other’s reaction. The dark-haired male pulled his goggles from his head, mouth open to fill his lungs with much needed oxygen. His hands balled to fists as they rested on his quivering thighs.  
“Shit… not enough…” he heard the male’s voice echo through the rink before he left the ice, getting his water bottle.  
“Nonsense Baekhyun.”  
That was the other’s coach. Skating legend Kim Minseok – a famous ex-athlete whose name was popular among every generation of their country. He was a national superstar so to say and Baekhyun was lucky enough to be his pupil.  
“You did really well. It’s better not to push yourself too hard right now. The games start in three days. If you get injured now then your first Olympic championships are over before a single firework went off.”

Jongdae was pretty sure that the younger wasn’t happy with the answer. But he nodded regardless, his eyes going back to the clock showing his result.  
If the brunet squinted hard enough he saw the other scowl at the display, before his eyes wandered over the empty ranks upstairs. Which made Jongdae hiss in shock, pressing his body against the pillar, hoping that it would hide him from the other’s eyes.  
He needed to get out of here.  
Fast.  
He was pushing his luck again.

And yet… Every time he came here Baekhyun had this exhausted, but angry look on his face after a race was over. It started with determination the moment his skates touched the ice. Concentration while he skated and this look of failure when he crossed the finish line.  
Was he trying to beat some specific record?  
Damn, he was curious but he couldn’t just go up there and ask… that would kind of be creepy, right?  
First of all would he need to confess that he had been watching for almost a year now.  
That he kept hiding there… and that he kept track of the other’s emotions displayed on his face.

Well…  
Yeah, they would probably call the security guards.

And he might not see the light of the day again.

Jongdae swallowed nervously. Perhaps there was another way he could find out what was going on. During the winter games everyone would be piled up. Maybe he’d have a chance to actually strike up a conversation.  
Maybe.  
Then he might learn the reason for the other’s discontentment when Byun Baekhyun was clearly an inspiration to those around him. Jongdae didn’t just mean himself, but also the young talents who were allowed to attend the sport school and who looked up to their idols.  
And from the looks that they sent the black-haired male was it clear that he was on top of that list.  
“Good work hyung! You were amazing!”  
Some of the youngers yelled and showed Baekhyun a thumbs up and the star-athlete turned to them, showing a big grin.  
“Of course! Keep your eyes on me guys and aim for the top, got it? Maybe you can catch up to me then.” he snickered, while they cheered loudly and Jongdae watched the other keep on smiling for them until they looked away.  
Only then did Baekhyun’s lips form a tight line again, his slightly arrogant demeanour falling.  
“Why are you acting like that?” he wondered out loud as he realised once again that he just really, really wanted to get to know the other better.  
Or know him personally to begin with. His slightly stalker-like behaviour now could not really be counted… right? He was actually pretty sure of that. So he needed to change that and… probably make a move or it would never be more than that.

Jongdae smiled to himself.  
In three days all eyes would be placed upon Korea and the athletes competing in this year’s Olympic games.  
And it felt kind of surreal, but…  
Jongdae would be one of them as well. So who knew? Perhaps during the entrance ceremony he would end up walking next to Byun Baekhyun.

He would at least try.

**❆❆**

To say that it didn’t come as planned was probably superfluous, right? Right. Even though all the Korean athletes had gathered together, Jongdae hadn’t even spotted Byun Baekhyun today.  
“Whatcha doing there, Dae?”  
An arm was wrapped around his shoulders and Chanyeol pulled him against his chest, squeezing none too gently.  
“Gah! Park Chanyeol! Let me go!”  
Perhaps the fact that he was surrounded by Chanyeol’s giant team mates was the reason for his futile search.  
Most of the guys forming the ice hockey team were pretty tall and so the most he could see were chests and necks, Chanyeol’s being in his line of vision the most.  
Or Oh Sehun’s.  
“Go away! How am I supposed to find the other skaters like that, huh?”

His friend stilled at that, releasing him. But Jongdae really wished that he had used a better word. Both Chanyeol and Sehun looked at him, their eyebrows drawn up and their lips pulled into smirks.  
Damn this.  
Why did Jongdae always talk before he thought?

“I see how it is. You’re searching for Byun, eh?”  
Sehun snickered loudly now and used his height advantage to scan the crowd. Jongdae just grumbled.  
“I meant my figure skater team… but whatever… you always have to jump to conclusions!” he whined out loudly trying to shove Chanyeol away but running against a wall as so often.  
At a stretch, the ice hockey team could be considered skaters too. So why did his friend immediately think of Baekhyun, huh?

“Hyung. Looks bad. He’s way over there,” Sehun explained nodding to the rear of the group before he continued “and your team is scattered all over. So you better walk with us.”  
“Fine…” Jongdae muttered and wanted to cross his arms over his chest only to be stopped by one of the team manger girls who handed out flags with their logo.  
Oh.  
Okay.  
No sulking and more waving it apparently was.  
“Can’t wait!” Chanyeol exclaimed as they heard the name of the next country being called out. They knew it was their turn next so they got into positions, all of them ready to go the moment the pretty young lady at the front would walk off.  
“I still can’t believe it. The Olympic games, Jongdae! Come on now. Quit sulking. You can stalk Byun later!”  
“I am not stalk- wha!”  
He was suddenly pushed forward and it was only thanks to Sehun who steadied him with a hand on his lower back that he didn’t stumble as the crowd started pushing.

It was their turn.

The cheers were deafening as the first athletes walked into the stadium, all of them waving their flags as the whole atmosphere washed over them.  
And Jongde felt like he was in some kind of movie. He couldn’t even make out the words that the announcer blasted through the speakers.  
He just waved his flag diligently and kind of on autopilot as the crowd continued to cheer and Jongdae realised for the first time that this was really happening.

He had been so caught up before…  
With his own training, trying not to get teased by Chanyeol and Sehun and thinking about Baekhyun that.. the seriousness of what was coming up had been lost on him.  
Until he was here.  
Walking the stadium, having millions of eyes placed upon him.

He heard Chanyeol yell happily and for a moment he wondered when he had gotten his phone out, waving stupidly at it. What was going on there.  
Sehun looked at Chanyeol’s phone too, waving happily.  
“Are you guys seriously face timing with someone while we are doing the entrance ceremony?!” Jongdae all but spit out, their turn coming to an end luckily.  
Was that even allowed?

But no one had said anything and they hadn’t been warned either so…  
Chanyeol made a last dopey face at the screen before he ended the call, pocketing the device and pushing Jongdae along until they had found a seat in the ranks for them.  
“Yes, I did. Shortly. And now keep on smiling for the public, okay? The cameras could be on us for all we know!”  
That definitely didn’t satisfy him, but he knew that the taller was right. They had no idea which camera was pointing where and captured whose face for the people to see on their screens so it was safer to actually watch the performance in front of them and keep still.  
“You’re not off the hook, Park” he mumbled under his breath and sent him a glare when his friend just chuckled.  
“I mean it!” he hissed, but averted his gaze then again. He would have the next two weeks to talk to the other about it.  
Who could be so important that he facetimed with that person during the ceremony? And apparently did Sehun know that person as well.  
Chanyeol’s sister, perhaps?

If it had been Yura, he wouldn’t have tried to hide it from him though. Jongdae knew his friend’s older sister after all. Which was probably due to the fact that Chanyeol’s family treated everyone they met as their own. Especially his mother.  
She was god-sent. And damn she could cook well.

The ceremony went on and shortly before they were told to leave had he even spotted the back of Baekhyun’s head. Which wasn’t that easy, mind you, seeing as the skater had black hair as most of their country’s team members. But… Jongdae knew, okay?

Not creepy.  
Not creepy at all.

“It’s your turn tomorrow already, right?”  
Sehun walked next to him as they made their way outside and back to where they would stay for the duration of the event.  
The rooms weren’t exactly big, but they had had worse in their early trainee days after all.  
“Ah? Yeah. The early qualification phase. I should be able to pass it, no worries. As long as I don’t mess up my triples.”

Sehun blinked at him.  
“Hah… don’t worry. As long as I don’t land on my butt, okay?”  
A hearty laugh came from behind and a moment later was he once again hugged close by his tall friend. Chanyeol grinned happily at him.  
“You trained hard. Don’t worry. And I’m sure you’ll manage that _jump_ as well.”

Jongdae felt his face grow hot at that. Damn. Why had he allowed Chanyeol to oversee his secret practice again?  
A right. Because he could be a really good friend and handed out good advice. Mostly. Jongdae bit his lower lip at that.  
“We will see… It didn’t work so well when practicing, if you remember…”  
Chanyeol shrugged his shoulders.  
“I’m sure it will be alright. You won’t need it right away anyway, right? So stop worrying. Worry about your lover boy. I heard Byun is up early with some real races?”

“Ah,” Sehun joined, “I think so too. I saw the schedules earlier. Both the speed skaters and the figure skaters have qualifications tomorrow and the speed skaters start with the first competitions the day after. Figure skaters start on Friday, right?”  
The brunet could only nod to this. Damn, he cursed inwardly as he bit the inside of his cheek by habit.  
“I didn’t know that” he muttered and Chanyeol nudged him “Gasp! Something you don’t know about your lover boy? Sehun, I think the apocalypse is coming. Let’s save our sorry hides!”  
“Oh sod off!” Jongdae growled and shoved the tall male with all his might. Otherwise he wouldn’t even have made the other budge – the other’s body was just an unfair advantage over Jongdae’s much smaller and lithe frame!  
“He is not my lover boy! He doesn’t even know I exist okay! I just admire him and you know that!” he whined, arms crossed over his chest as he fumed.  
Damn him!  
And he still wanted to know about that phone call – perhaps it was something that was worth knowing. Something that would give him the chance to tease Chanyeol and keep the upper hand for once!  
“Yet.” Chanyeol snickered and sent him a wink. Jongdae could only glower at him. The other really didn’t know when to stop – not that he was any different in that.  
But that wasn’t the point.  
“You two quit bickering. Jongdae has to get up early so let’s call it a night. With whom are you sharing, Jongdae hyung?”  
“Me?”  
He dropped his arms again and ducked his head in thanks as Sehun held open the door to the large building where the different rooms were located in.  
“With Jongin, I think. At least I saw our names paired together on that sheet of paper we got in the bus before. Kim Jongdae Kim Jongin… seems like they went by the alphabet.”

“If you don’t know who to ask” Chanyeol snickered and nudged Sehun  
“Right, roommate?” he stuck out his tongue and Jongdae rolled his eyes  
“I’m not even surprised anymore!” he exclaimed, throwing his hands up in defeat. He really wasn’t. Chanyeol and Sehun were a story of their own. Bro’s till their last breath, or something like that.

Jongdae was kind of glad that he was excluded from that.

“Whatever. You two go do whatever it is you do when you are alone. I’ll sleep.” The heavens knew he needed the rest.  
And the solitude of a bedroom. Jongin was still out with friends as far as he knew and that would mean he’d have some time to himself.  
Which was good.

“Patience.” Said Chanyeol and patted him on the shoulder  
“We’re not gonna wish you luck. You won’t need it. Not yet. But I’ll see you after that?”

Jongdae nodded, smiling up at his friend.  
Both chanyeol and Sehun would be both noisy and nosy but they were good friends. And definitely good supporters when it really mattered.  
His heart felt a little lighter when he looked at their now grinning faces.  
They weren’t teasing him anymore - they were genuinely trying to encourage him.  
“Yeah. Okay then. You two have fun.” He offered and waved at them before he took the elevator up to his floor. Chanyeol and Sehun were on the first, which meant they took the stairs while Jongdae went up to the eighth floor where he exited, found his room and dropped on the bed.

It was only with great effort that he got up again, did his rituals to get ready for bed and dropped back down. His hand fished for his phone, before he opened his SNS account.  
>The ceremony was amazing! Have you spotted me? ;) Everyone sleep well. I love you. Kkk<

He pressed ‘send’ and his eyes fell closed.

**❆❆**

  
His alarm was set for 6 a.m. which left him with enough time to whine out loudly, press the snooze button displayed on his phone and turn around to get another half an hour of sleep.  
Jongin who had come back somewhen in the middle of the night hadn’t been disturbed by that at all, his breathing deep and steady.

Jongdae hated getting up early – but he also knew that if he overslept too much his whole routine would be blown and ruined.  
Baekhyun wasn’t the only one who had kept pushing himself, striving for improvement. Jongdae had worked hard as well.

Otherwise he would not have been chosen for the Olympic Team this year, right?

He grumbled and decided to forgo his extra thirty minutes of rest today that he usually valued greatly. Instead, he rose, did his morning routine and went for his obligatory morning run.  
It was freezing cold outside and not even the sun that was already peeking out could help him nor the other athletes he met on his way warm up.  
He had overheard quite a few people from other nationalities complaining about the cold, which confused him more than anything.  
They were all winter athletes. They worked with snow or ice – should they not be more resistant?

But that wasn’t what he should be concentrating on.

When he came back, Jongin was still fast asleep. It was a miracle how that male could literally sleep through everything, even him opening the door and tripping over his own suitcase.  
Nothing could wake Kim Jongin once he slept apparently.  
Fine with him.  
Time for breakfast and then he had to prove that he deserved to compete here by qualifying for the next round.

**❆❆**

 

“Not bad,” Sehun grinned as he dropped down next to Jongdae that evening, his tray filled with different kinds of food.  
Jongdae pouted at that.  
The thing about being a figure skater was that he had to control his weight meticulously – every kilo more could kill his entire balance while he jumped.

Yet, this was a small sacrifice for living his dream, for indulging in something that was genuinely enjoyed by him.

“Both you and Byun made it easily enough, huh? A match made in heaven.” The younger teased and Jongdae nudged him with his knee underneath the table.  
“Would you and Chanyeol stop that! We’re nothing like that… I admire him. Maybe I’m his fan. But that’s it…”  
He ruffled his hair, his brunet locks hanging into his face now. The figure skater wished he could just end the topic once and for all, but he knew his friends too well for that.  
Once they found a vulnerable point… they would continue to poke it until they grew tired of it.

“Don’t go all sour on us.” Chanyeol piped up now and plopped down on the seat across from him, starting to shove the food into his mouth.  
They all needed their strength after all and even though Jongdae needed to be careful with his meals, did that not mean that he wasn’t allowed to eat anything at all. There were enough rumours that said that athletes like him only ate a salad a day or something stupid like that.

It was absurd, of course.

“You are just too adorable when we tease you!” he snickered and used his chopstick to poke Jongdae’s cheek what made him scowl.  
“Fine, fine. We stop for now.” The taller said and shrugged his shoulders before getting more rice into his mouth.  
“You’re gonna watch the skaters tomorrow?” he asked then, tilting his head “It’s one of the distances that Byun is competing in, right?” Chanyeol asked and Sehun nodded to affirm this.  
“Perhaps,” Jongdae sighed, “I want to go, but Heechul keeps us on a tight leash, you know? Can’t say yet if I’ll have the time to go…”  
“Pity.” Chanyeol hummed and shrugged his shoulders.  
“Well, nothing to be done about it.” the male concluded and pulled out his phone. Jongdae pulled up his eyebrow as he saw the ice hockey player grin at the screen before he got up and excused himself for a moment.  
“Okay. I know you know what’s going on. What’s happening with Chanyeol? I have never seen him so immersed in his phone before…, answer me Oh Sehun!”

The younger only chuckled, tilting his head.  
“Ah… it’s nothing special, you know?” he tried but Jongdae had him pinned down with a death glare that made the other continue.  
“Fine. Do you know Do Kyungsoo?”

Jongdae hummed. Something clearly rang a bell there and it took him a moment until it hit him. He grinned and pulled his phone out, opening his Instagram.  
“The Judo athlete, right? Korea’s current champion?” he smiled and opened the male’s account, smirking proudly.  
“Sure do. We follow each other. See!!” he waved the phone in front of Sehun’s face and snickered.  
Yeah, he was easy to approach and definitely friendly, so he was quite popular among Korea’s sportsmen and women.  
Which made him really happy.

Too bad that a certain Byun Baekhyun didn’t want to follow him back…

“Yeah, that’s the one. Chanyeol’s boyfriend.”  
“Ah I see, so that’s-“ the words stopped right there in his throat and Jongdae had to grab for his glass of water as he started coughing as he nearly choked.  
“WHAT!?” he all but cried out “Our Chanyeollie is dating superstar Do Kyungsoo?!”

He hadn’t even realised that he had jumped to his feet, his flat hands coming down on the table in a swift and powerful movement, making the dishware shake from the impact. He stared at his friend who just continued to smile at him.  
“Yep. They’ve been seeing each other for a while and now they are boyfriends. But before you want to ask holes into my body, it’s not my story to tell.” Sehun said, looking all innocently at him as he gathered his things and got up, leaving Jongdae alone.  
“Oh Sehun! Get back here!!”

Only that he didn’t and Chanyeol didn’t return either which left Jongdae with two trays that he needed to bring back to the cafeteria staff.  
Great.  
Amazing friends he had.  
He wasn’t sure yet what seemed more important to him now – getting the time to see the skater’s compete tomorrow or to poison Chanyeol in his sleep for keeping this a secret for him.

The latter seemed very tempting though.  
Jongdae growled.

**❆❆**

 

In the end, the decision hadn’t been difficult to make.  
Jongdae was clad in his favourite pink hoodie when he made his way to the ice rink. Heechul hadn’t been happy and had only granted him a small amount of time, but he would use it well.

Sadly did that mean that it was not enough time to plan the murder of Park Chanyeol.

But he could make his way to the ice rink, where the speed skaters had their first competition today, and watch a part of the event before he would have to return. He had his VIP card clasped to his pant’s back pockets which he could reach anytime a security person would walk up to him but kept it out of the way otherwise.  
He knew that he was late too – but Heechul hadn’t let him leave any earlier so he was hurrying through the mostly deserted halls of the ice rink now in search off an entrance to the upper levels from where he could watch the skaters on the ice.

Honestly, it hadn’t even been Heechul’s fault. Jongdae had passed by a vending machine and the promise of a caffeinated drink had been too tempting to say no to. The café latte was still too hot to drink, but by the time he would have reached the stands he hoped he could indulge in that wonderful beverage.

Only that he found it flying through the air a moment later.  
He let out a yelp as his body collided with another, sending his drink first into the air and then to the ground where he landed a heartbeat later as well.  
“Outch, outch…” he muttered, his eyes squeezed tight as the stupid VIP card duck into his rear.  
“Watch-“ he began, but when he lifted his gaze did his voice forsake him.

“Hey. Are you okay? Sorry for running into you, I’m in a hurry, kind of.”

A smile.  
Pearly white teeth, that damn mole near his lips. Dark locks.

Byun Baekhyun was standing right in front of him, offering him to help him up with his hand.

Jongdae was breathless for a moment, his eyes focusing on the male in front of him but his brain not able to catch up.  
This couldn’t be happening.  
Had he hit his head so hard that he was hallucinating? His hand took Baekhyun’s without him noticing and the warmth of the other male’s palm was enough to pull him back to the here and now. Warm skin against his own, soft to touch.  
“And up.”  
He was hoisted back to his feet and Jongdae blinked, bewildered.

Use your mouth!

“Thank you!” he blurted out, bowing politely as he finally remembered his manners.  
“No problem. I guess it was my fault. But I really got to run now, before I’m too late…” the raven-haired trailed off and turned to leave.  
It was only thanks to Jongdae’s fast reflexes that he could catch the speed skater in time, his hand grabbing Baekhyun’s wrist.  
“Baekhyun-shi,” he started, swallowing.  
The other had to get on the ice – if he arrived too late he would be disqualified. What had he even been doing? He was wearing  dark green sweat pants with their Korean hoodie at the top.  
“Yeah? Sorry I really gotta run… never had to pee this close to a race before…” the athlete muttered and Jongdae furrowed his brows at that.  
Yeah, they were superstars to the eyes of the media, but they were just ordinary humans. Jongdae could relate here.

“I just wanted to wish you good luck.” He said eventually and conjured his biggest smile.  
“You’re always working hard. Pushing yourself to the next levels… and I wanted to let you know that this… victory… that medals… it’s not everything.” The words came out as broken stutters, but he couldn’t stop them anymore.  
“Please remember we are doing this because we love it and because we want to show the world our best side. I’ve been cheering on you for a while now and you never seem satisfied… so please don’t overwork yourself and just work hard, okay?” he showed the skater a victory sign now.  
And Baekhyun just blinked at him, before offering a smile back.  
“Thank you…”  
“Jongdae! Ah…. Haha… my name is Jongdae. And now go! Sorry for keeping you!” his nervousness was making him feel nauseous by now.  
What had he been thinking?  
Throwing all of these words at the other out of a sudden?

Baekhyun didn’t even know he was an athlete as well! That was creepy as hell!

Jongdae felt his cheeks burn with embarrassement and he turned on his heels.  
“Fighting!” he offered again, forcing up another grin before he all but fled the scene, his heart pounding loudly in his chest.

That…  
Had been the most stupid thing he had ever done. He had just kept talking, not giving the other a chance to say anything in return. He had even given him his name. Great.  
“Why Kim Jongdae!” he whined when he came to stop outside of the building. He was trying to catch his breath, eyes cast to the clear blue sky.  
The cold wrapped around him, but he felt so hot from embarrassment that he welcomed it gladly.  
“Fuck.”  
That really hadn’t been the way he wanted to introduce himself. Jongdae had imagined it a million times already and some were more silly and unlikely but he had never imagined something as cringy as this.  
His eyes welled up with tears and though he desperately tried to blink them away did they leave hot trails on his cheeks.  
He rubbed his face furiously, swallowing the pain.  
“No need to cry…” Jongdae scolded himself. Baekhyun had probably forgotten all about it already.  
He had a competition to focus on.

Jongdae bit his lower lip, grateful for his own positive mindset.  
He still felt nauseous to the pits of his stomach, but he felt like he could breathe again at least. One, two, three.  
Deep breaths.

He’ll just try again.

**❆❆**

 

Baekhyun’s team breezed through the qualifications. Team sprint was something that he didn’t necessarily enjoy as he was not really good with teamwork but they were all talented enough to make up for that.  
Korea was qualified for the final rounds that would take place next week.  
Whoever came up with the schedule for this event was nuts, but the athletes just had to go with it.  
It was a little confusing – but Baekhyun knew that he had the ‘ **500m’** s coming up tomorrow and that was all that mattered for now.

They weren’t his best distance – he preferred the long distances as well as the mass starting – but he would try his best anyway.  
He grinned to himself then before stretching.  
Of course he had gone back to the rink after the qualifying to get some last-minute training done. Especially on his starting… he had felt a little off there.

“Yo Byun. Watchya grinning about, huh?”  
He whipped around, a scowl on his lips already as his eyes fell on Park Chanyeol who was waving excitedly.  
This dork.  
Ever since that giant had gotten himself a boyfriend he grew even more insufferable and Baekhyun had doubted that that was possible.

“Shush.” Baekhyun rolled his eyes “How did you even find me. I managed to avoid you until now… didn’t even see you in the crowd at the ceremony.”  
That was lie and they both knew it – it was almost impossible not to spot the tall brunet in a crowd. With Sehun always around him too they were like two towering skyscrapers…  
But the speed skater didn’t want to give in there.  
“Hate to remind you, but we’re kindergarten buddies and I knew you’d be here, pushing yourself to your limits again.” Chanyeol shrugged his shoulders and held the small gate open when Baekhyun skated over, putting the protectors on his blades.

“Whatever. I’ve finished now anyway.” Baekhyun grumbled.  
He wasn’t usually like this to his friend, but with the impending competitions so close… he was on edge.  
He still could not beat his personal record.  
And that meant… that he would disappoint everyone. His eyes narrowed as his gaze darkened. That couldn’t happen. Perhaps he could sneak out again later and-

“Now, now Byun.” Chanyeol patted his shoulders “I am not sure what you are thinking about, but I can see that it is nonsense. So stop that and rest. You’re going too far…”  
There was genuine concern laced in his friend’s voice and for a moment Baekhyun felt bad for worrying the taller like this.  
But the raven-haired knew what was at stake. This sport… it was everything he had. He wasn’t exactly excelling at academics. It just wasn’t his thing.  
Skating however…

Baekhyun’s body went rigid.  
A lopsided grin flashed before his eyes and then he had to chuckle, startling his friend who let go of him as if he had done something wrong.  
“Hahh… Just remembered that I had a very odd conversation today.”  
“A conversation, with whom?” his friend asked, interested. Baekhyun knew why that seemed extraordinary to the taller – he wasn’t exactly known for being friendly among the team. Sure he was polite and tried his hardest for the younger athletes… but he could also be snappy and honestly he mostly kept to himself.  
Concentrating on his own techniques, mistakes and records.  
“A fan.” Baekhyun said easily, shrugging his shoulders  
“A fan. Here?”

The raven-haired looked up at his friend.  
“Not here you giant- urgh…,” he trailed off and got into his zip-up hoodie.  
“Before the team qualifiers… I met him in the corridors… well, more like I sent him flying. Ruined his coffee too, but then he started talking so much that he forgot all about it…”  
Baekhyun had to chuckle regardless.  
“He was cute though. He told me not to push myself so hard and to remember why I do this,” he nodded toward the ice rink “He was really passionate. Jongdae or something like that.” He hummed and tilted his head “But he ran away suddenly. I would have given him an autograph… or something for a new coffee…”  
Baekhyun could be seen as arrogant by his teammates, but he really wasn’t. His competetive mode… was just often getting the better of him.  
And after all it had really been his fault that the poor guy had fallen on his butt.

“Jongdae?” Chanyeol’s voice caught his attention and Baekhyun looked back up at his friend nodding “Yeah. My height, brown hair. Cute smile.”  
His friend rose his brows at that.  
“Don’t tell me you’re crushing on a fan now, Byun.” He teased and Baekhyun immediately pouted “What! Can you stop jumping to conclusions…” he rolled his eyes, shoving his friend slightly. He got out of his skates now and packed up his bag after noting down his last time.  
“Anyway. Let’s head out?”

Chanyeol nodded and followed him out of the building. How his friend even managed to get inside here without anyone noticing…  
Well, he was doing the exact same thing so perhaps he should keep his mouth shut.  
“Byun.”  
“Park.” He retorted, pulling up an eyebrow as they made their way from the ice rink building up the hill to where they were accommodated.  
The walk would take over fifteen minutes, but neither of them complained as they continued on, the night embracing them already.  
“Come to the ice rink hall on Friday. Let’s watch the figure skaters perform, hm?”

Baekhyun stopped. They were almost back, the tall building only another three minutes or something away.  
“No?” he scrunched up his nose “Why would I? I have practice. And I’m really not interested in watching someone else’s competition. I might go see you if I have the time, but that’s it.” he said, crossing his arms over his chest and huffing.  
Seriously, today was an odd day.  
Chanyeol had never mentioned something like that before. Not even at the sport academy where they could go and watch smaller competitions any time.  
“Byun…” his friend tried again but Baekhyun was already shaking his head “No. I don’t have time for this, got it? I have to concentrate on myself. Sorry to break it to you, but there are high expectations placed on us speed skaters! I’m sure it’s not the same for you ice hockey players so don’t even try, okay?!” he hissed menacingly not caring that his words tore his friend’s heart apart.  
“So no, I’m not coming. Drag Sehun there with you, or something. Bye.”

And with that he left his friend alone, abandoning him underneath the clear night sky.

**❆❆**

 

He pinched the bridge of his nose as he lay face up on his bed that night, eyes closed as the scene kept repeating in his mind.  
Chanyeol’s eyes flashed with hurt and sadness before him as the giant’s shoulders had slumped at the words that Baekhyun had uttered so carelessly.  
The black-haired knew that he had overstepped a line.

Chanyeol was his friend – one of the few he had left after concentrating on his one and only dream. On speed skating.  
On reaching the top of the world.

And he had treated him like garbage, when he was already putting up with enough of Baekhyun’s shit.

“Fuck,” the skater breathed out, his arm covering his eyes as he tried to drown out the images that kept coming back.  
He had messed up. And this wasn’t something that could be forgotten, not the way he had voiced things. No matter how forthcoming Chanyeol’s nature was… he would not forgive him this.  
He shouldn’t forgive him this.

His whole body grew more tense the longer he tried to abolish the look of utter disdain on his friend’s face until he just couldn’t take it anymore.  
Baekhyun let his hand slide down onto the mattress, grabbing for his phone that he had dumped there when dropping onto his bed.  
The device was almost out of battery, but it would have to do.

Knowing Chanyeol he wouldn’t have to wait to long for a reply anyway.

He was on the phone the whole time at the moment, and though it was nearing midnight by now, he doubted that the taller was already asleep.

Baekhyun swiped over his lockscreen, opening the chat window he needed. This wasn’t like him. Baekhyun didn’t apologise and beg for forgiveness.  
He always held his head up high as he had learned early enough that showing weakness would be abused and exploited shamelessly.  
Trainers, coaches, managers, colleagues.

They all wanted what was best for themselves not for others.

And Baekhyun had nearly forgotten that Chanyeol was neither of that.

Chanyeol was his friend. Just like Sehun was and bloody hell, he couldn’t lose them. Not when everyone else felt more like an enemy to him than anything else already.  
His fingers typed away, his heart dictating the words that he wanted to say.

When he pressed ‘send’ and closed his eyes again, he felt as if a heavy weight had been lifted of his chest. He wasn’t fuming anymore and this time Chanyeol didn’t haunt him in his personal darkness – instead he saw the brunet from before, gifting the brightest smile.

Jongdae.

Baekhyun chuckled, rubbing his tired eyes as he wondered why the other male he had run into had decided to pop up in his mind now.  
Of course he was good looking and Baekhyun had never minded eyecandy. He had been sweet. Supportive. Perhaps that was exactly why his memory from before had infiltrated his mind now – because he barely had anything like that.  
Support – Genuine, unconditional. Admiration.

His parents were there for him, but they lived farther away. The only form of support… he got from Chanyeol and Sehun.  
And apparently Jongdae who was a fan.

Kind of crazy, right?  
Knowing that you had a fan?

His phone buzzed next to him and he was pleased to see Chanyeol’s name flash across the dark background.  
So Baekhyun had been right.  
The taller had been up – probably texting his boyfriend. The concept still seemed foreign to him and he really couldn’t wait to get some more details on this but right now he really was in no position to make demands.

 

> **> ’I’m terribly sorry for earlier’**
> 
> **‘You better be’ <**

Baekhyun bit his lower lip at that, yet he knew that as long as the taller at least answered his messages not all hope was lost.

 

> **> ’I didn’t mean it. I was angry… and probably stupid. I’ll go see the competition with you, are we good then?'**
> 
> **‘We are. Don’t be late though and don’t complain.’ <**

There was punctuation in that sentence. No smiley, no abbreviations. Baekhyun knew that this was serious and that if he really meant his apology he should better go and make it to that show the other wanted to see.  
He texted back, asking for more details on the schedule, and once he had put an alarm that would alert him of the upcoming event in time he finally pulled the covers over himself.

He didn’t have too many friends… but he would try to keep those who put up with him.

They deserved this much effort. (And more.)

**❆❆**

 

“You want to watch the figure skaters?” Baekhyun’s brows rose up as Chanyeol filled him in the next morning.  
He had slept terribly, his dark circles a reminder of the previous night and how he had stayed awake, beating himself up about the words he had thrown at the taller’s head. Hours of staring at the ceiling until he had finally come back to his senses and apologised, hoping to be forgiven.

Chanyeol’s greeting had been anything but warm this morning, but Baekhyun hadn’t expected anything else. He had accepted that he had fucked up and it was his friends right to be angry with him for a little longer.

“Yep. There’s someone I want to see. Got a problem with that?”  
Baekhyun flinched at the tone and though his initial impulse was to protest and claim not to be interested in other people he shrugged his shoulders in the end, agreeing to the other’s plan.  
His friend regarded him warily for a moment, probably because he hadn’t expected the smaller to be this pliant with him, but Chanyeol offered a small smile then and led the way to the ice rink hall.  
“Sehun is probably already there. He’s friends with one of the Japanese skaters. Shouma is his name, maybe you’ve heard of him?”

Baekhyun shook his head, denying.  
“I forgot. There is hardly any space for anyone else beside you.”

There’s a sharp pang in his chest as the taller uttered these words and for a moment Baekhyun wasn’t sure how to breathe properly as his mouth tasted like ash and dirt at the realisation that what the other was saying was nothing but the truth.  
The raven haired was egoistic like that. Self-centred.

“That’s-“  
He should feel angry at that comment – coming from a friend especially. But Baekhyun was left speechless, no retort upon his lips to throw it back.  
It hurt.

And it hurt to know that even his friends thought of him like that. He bit his lower lip as his feet trudged forward, following Chanyeol who wasn’t sparing him another glance for now.  
It wasn’t like that.  
Baekhyun knew what it meant to be on the top tier in this world. The world of the top athletes where any slip up could mean your downfall.  
Could mean a dwindling number of sponsors. Of money.

If he wanted to make his dream come true there was only one thing he could do. Concentrate und practice. Endlessly.

There was not enough time for other people between his schedules.  
That he managed to pack in both Chanyeol and Sehun was a miracle already.

Still, he knew that he came off as arrogant to others. Selfish.

He let out a shaky breath and once again there was a bright smile flashing up in his mind. Jongdae didn’t think of him like that.  
He was a fan – so he admired him, right?  
Baekhyun shook his head. He didn’t know the side of him that Chanyeol had so openly accused a moment ago, so of course the brunet wouldn’t think of him as egoistical. As nonchalant in regards to others.

“Stop that brooding” Chanyeol hummed and greeted Sehun who had been waiting for them at the upper ranks where they had a great view over the ice rink. There was no one else there and the raven haired wondered how they had ended up here, but he couldn’t remember anything but following his friend through the entrance doors.  
Well, they were kind of VIPs so this was probably alright.  
“I’m not brooding!” Baekhyun retorted loudly when his voice had finally come back to him, offended.  
“You are,” Chanyeol snickered and nudged him, “no need for that. We’ve already endured your presence for the last seven years. I think we’ll manage.”

Baekhyun nearly choked on his own spit at that, feeling the relief wash over him despite his throat hurting from the way he had to cough up the mis-swallowed saliva.  
That was gross.

“I think I missed something” Sehun commented and Chanyeol just grinned at him “Baekhyun was being an idiot. The usual. What’s happening?”  
The youngest of the trio shrugged his shoulders then and turned back to face the rink below.  
“Fernando just finished. I don’t think he’ll beat Shouma though. His short program got really high scores.”  
“Short Program?” Baekhyun butted in, leaning against the railing now, eyes set upon the ice. He felt himself itch to get into his skating shoes, but he was here to watch and not to practice no matter how the ice called out to him.

The shortest nodded. Couldn’t be that hard.  
“Shouma is your friend from Japan?” he prodded and the blonde gave a nod “I see. Then we missed him. Do we have to watch the others, Yeol?”

A single glance from his friend was enough to have Baekhyun cower. Fine. They were not back to their playful banter yet.  
Somehow he would survive.  
“He hasn’t skated yet. Our own team is participating too. You sure you don’t know him? You’re both skaters.”

Baekhyun could only roll his eyes at that.  
“Technically, you two are skaters too. You just lack any grace and elegance at it.”

That has his two taller friends baffled, before they all but burst into a fit of laughter.  
“Elegance?” they said in union, hitting their thighs as the laughter wrecked their bodies.  
“Good graces, have you seen an elegant ice hockey player before, Sehun?”  
The blonde shook his head, a tear escaping his eye as he continue to chuckle loudly  
“No. And I am not sure the opposing team would care much for elegance – they’ll take the puck no matter how pretty you look while handling it.”

Bakehyun just let out a grunt at that.  
“I got it you two. I got it. But no, I don’t. You know I don’t really… check out other things.”  
“Yeah. We know,” Chanyeol said, his shoulders still quaking from his previous fit as he slowly calmed down.  
“But elegance and grace should only be reserved for the figure skaters. Have you really never seen watched their performances before? I doubt any of us could land anything like a triple axel or a salchow and look good at it.” Chanyeol shook his head, “Figure skaters are something else, I tell you.”

The words the other had used didn’t ring any bell with the eldest so he just hummed.  
“If you say so.”  
Baekhyun had literally no idea what they were talking about, but it seemed like he was about to find out, right?  
They had already announced the next athlete but it was only thanks to Chanyeol’s loud howling that he realised that it had to be the Korean competitor.  
The name had been lost to him.

“Jongdae!! Show them what you are made off! You can do it!! Land that bloody quadrable!”

Sehun whooped loudly next to him, both of them waving excitedly as the male skated one round, waving to the audience who cheered loudly for their kinsman before he found a position in the middle of the rink, freezing.

“Are you kidding me.”

Baekhyun couldn’t believe his eyes – couldn’t believe them because what he was seeing just couldn’t be true.  
This had to be a trick of his own mind.

“Jongdae?!” he all but blurted out, his eyes still glued to the figure skater on the ice below, whose fluid motions were in perfect harmony with the music that had started.  
Jongdae? Yes, there was no mistaken that this was the same boy who had offered him those words of support the other day. The one who claimed to be his fan.  
The same guy.

Jongdae.

He was an athlete too?

Well, that certainly explained how the other had managed to be in the restricted parts of the stadium where he had looked for a secluded restroom.  
It hadn’t really occurred to him before that the other shouldn’t have been able to access the area, but his mind had been occupied otherwise.

And now he was left staring at the brunet who glided over the ice effortlessly, his jumps high and perfect and precise to the point that Baekhyun found himself swallowing at the sheer passion that the other radiated during his program.  
The black haired male knew next to nothing about figure skating, but he didn’t need to be an expert to know that the other was good.  
Bloody good.  
Chanyeol’s occasional whistles affirmed that.

“Fuck.” he breathed out without realising and from the corner of his eyes he could see Chanyeol snickering at him.  
“Did you get hit by Cupid’s arrow? Straight through the heart?” the tallest snickered and Sehun, ever the traitor, immediately joined.  
“I bet he did. Look at him. He can barely tear his eyes away from Jongdae-hyung.”  
Baekhyun tried to ignore them in favour of watching the brunet perform two jumps in a row, first three turns and then two. The crowd cheered.

And Baekhyun stared.

It looked effortless. The way he glided over the ice, balancing his weight on the blades to get a certain edge, to get the best momentum and landing on a single foot after the execution.

It looked so easy.  
But the ice was Baekhyun’s home too – and he knew that this was everything but that. If he was honest, there were probably some things that the other could teach him.

“Yep. I think Jongdae-hyung broke him.” He heard Sehun’s voice somewhere in the background and swatted at him in order to make him shut up.  
Why had the other not simply told him that he was an athlete too?  
Instead he had only offered gentle words and told him that he was a fan?  
That seemed silly now – he probably only knew him from their training facility or something like that. But Baekhyun really didn’t want to dwell on that now.  
“Baekhyun has a crush~” Chanyeol teased before he screamed a loud “SHOW THEM THAT TOE LOOP!” over the audience and for a moment the raven haired was scared that the other’s shout would blow the figure skater over.

Luckily nothing of the sort happened.

“Shut the fuck up!” Baekhyun growled at the tallest “I don’t have a crush! I don’t even know him that well!” so how could he have a crush on him? Just from talking to him that one time?  
No matter how those words had touched him… it would be superficial, right? And that coming from someone like him…

He muttered under his breath, then eyed the brunet a last time as he made a big round over the ice, gathering some flowers and plushies. His program had ended.  
“How come you know him?”  
Sehun had referred to him as ‘hyung’ so that meant that the two of them were actually quite close.

How had he never seen Jongdae around then?

Chanyeol shrugged his shoulders.  
“He is a friend. He hangs out quite a lot with us? You know at those outings you never join because you have to practice or simply because you don’t want to deal with people?”  
Baekhyun nodded, dumbly.  
“Yeah, those. He is usually there.”  
“Oh.”  
Sehun wrapped an arm around his shoulder then and squeezed him “Yep. He is broken. Jongdae’s grace and what was it? Elegance! Have ruined him!” he smirked and Chanyeol chuckled “True. Come on. Let’s congratulate him! I think he surpassed Shouma and took the number one spot! If he scores high at the free program, he really has a chance!”

Before he could even protest, or explain why this was a bad idea, Baekhyun was already pulled along. Down the ranks and through a corridor that would lead them to the area below if they showed their IDs to the security guard there. From there they could peak inside the arena and wait for their friend to leave the ice rink and go to the locker rooms down the hallway.  
Did Chanyeol think this was okay because he had told him about their short conversation? That they had run into each other by chance, not knowing that they shared the same circle of friends? Well, of course his tall friend would decide suuch things by himself! But anyway…  
Baekhyun actually still wanted to thank Jongdae.

No one had ever said such words to him before. It used to be ‘more, faster, better’.

There had not been room for anything else.

“I- I don’t think I should be there-“ he tried to protest, but then Jongdae was already waving at them. He had spotted them at the entrance to the arena, waiting for the figure skater, and made a short sign to his coach before walking over to them, his blades hidden by bright pink protectors.  
Baekhyun couldn’t help but think that this was cute – hadn’t he also worn a pink sweater when they had met? Perhaps it was his favourite colour, or just a colour he really liked. Perhaps he had chosen it because all the other guys here wouldn’t choose pink which would mean his things wouldn’t get mixed up-  
Baekhyun had to tell himself to stop, to break his train of thoughts and actually breathe. The dark haired inhaled deeply, his eyes flickering over the figure skater who showed a shy smile.

Oh fuck.  
What was he even doing here? Why had he even felt bad for Chanyeol? He got him into lots of predicaments to begin with and now he found himself in yet another one.

Calm down, he told himself again. His thoughts were going haywire again when there really was no reason to. Jongdae had been nice, had had only words of support for him. Which made sense now, seeing as he was a fellow athlete.  
“Hi guys,” came the brunets voice, gentle and laced with surprise. “Hello Baekhyun-ssi” he greeted, bowing slightly in front of him before his eyes landed on their two (read: too) tall friends again.  
“What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be at the spa or something?” Jongdae joked, before addressing him, “and you at practice? I mean-“ the brunet’s eyes suddenly went wide as saucers, “not that I know your training schedule!” a nervous chuckle left him, “but you always work so hard! I just assumed! I really don’t know-“

“Jongdae.” Chanyeol cut in, his hand landing on the brunet’s shoulder “Calm down. Everything is alright. I kind of dragged Baekhyun along to force him to take a break from all that. So please don’t mention practice to him or he will be gone faster than his personal best…”  
Baekhyun grumbled at that, glaring at his friend. Well the part about dragging him here was kind of correct at least.  
“Which wouldn’t be so bad, right?” Jongdae chuckled “Beating his personal best would surely make him happy!” the brunet concluded and sent a wink Baekhyun’s way that took him off guard. He found himself blinking, pointing his index finger at himself and Jongdae nodded.  
“I guess…” he said, after another heartbeat of blankly staring.  
Sehun shook his head, his arms coming up over his chest as he let out an exasperated sigh.  
“Forget about him hyung. He seems broken today.”  
“Broken?” the brunet asked, his eyes flickering over to him with worry in them.

Why would that guy worry about him! Sure, he said he was a fan, but… he was an athlete himself. Shouldn’t he be focused on his own business? Baekhyun shouldn’t matter to him, especially not when he was in the middle of a competition.  
“Forget about them.” the speed skater finally said, “We actually wanted to congratulate you! You did well and you took the number one spot from the Japanese guy, right?”

It was kind of strange for him. Bakehyun had never cared much for other disciplines, yet alone other athletes. And now he was trying to make small talk about a topic he knew next to nothing about.  
He could already see this going down the drain.

“Shouma?” Jongdae said, smiling “Yeah. But his free program is amazing, I don’t think I have a chance to be honest!”  
Baekhyun narrowed his eyes as he heard that. Why was Jongdae smiling like this when he would be bested? Shouldn’t he feel anxious and angry?  
“Besides, Yuzuru is still out there. No one can beat him.” The brunet added and his grin only grew, leaving Baekhyun utterly dumbfounded.  
“I don’t understand you.” He suddenly blurted out, getting everyone’s attention.  
“Shouldn’t you feel angry? Or… “ Baekhyun averted his eyes, searching for the emotions that usually welled up inside of him when he realised he had once again not made it to the top. When someone took the top spot from him or when he miss-stepped, crushing down onto the hard surface of the ice leaving him bruised and sore for days.  
“…” he exhaled loudly. He shouldn’t be here, he should be at practice trying to prevent this from happening.  
“Like a failure.” the speed skater finally said, looking up. What he found only made him clench his hands into fists though, as Jongdae was still smiling at him.  
“Sometimes,” he said, shrugging his shoulders “But I can’t turn back the time and sometimes you just aren’t meant to win. But there is always next time.”

Silence settled over them and for a moment he wondered why neither Chanyeol nor Sehun said anything to break it. They were bad with solitude – they rather filled any void with their voices or at least their snickering. Yet, they let them have this moment. It was Jongdae who broke it eventually, smile still in place.  
“Thanks for coming. It made me really happy!”  
The three of them nodded and Baekhyun couldn’t help but feel terrible about what he had said before, as if he had killed of the mood completely.  
Great.  
There was a reason why he didn’t join the outings Chanyeol had mentioned anymore. He had forgotten how to socialise over the years with training had become the only important thing to him.  
“No problem. You’ll do great. I… Perhaps I should go. You were right, I should be at practice.” Baekhyun mumbled and though he could see in Chanyeol’s face that he wanted to protest and stop him did his friend keep quiet in front of Jongdae.  
Thank goodness.  
“Fighting!” Baekhyun added, offering the best smile he could in that moment before he turned around to leave.  
He didn’t see the confused and longing gaze on Jongdae’s face, nor the way Sehun’s hand had squeezed the figure skater’s shoulder.

Baekhyun left behind the rink, gathered his training garments and found himself on the ice until his muscles ached and his mind was blissfully blank.

Focus.

**❆❆**

 

It felt like a déjà vu when his phone lit up that night. Yet, this time it was Chanyeol taking the first step.

 

> **'You messed up man. You should apologise… xx-xxx-xxxx' <**
> 
> **> 'sorry'**

Baekhyun didn’t know what else to reply. He knew that he had probably hurt the other’s feelings and running away after all the nice things Jongdae had offered him before hadn’t been the nicest thing to do either. He had done it regardless, getting lost in the only thing he had control over. His speed skating.

Baekhyun pulled the comforter around his body, turning to the side as he typed in Jongdae’s name and saved the number as a new contact. Chanyeol really made him jump from the frying pan into the fire and it was needless to say probably that he did not appreciate that.

> **> 'hey, this is Baekhyun. Sorry about earlier, my day isn’t going too well. I didn’t want to pull you down. You did great. Thank you for your words of encouragement before. I never came around to thank you. So yeah, thanks. : ) sorry again.'**

He pressed ‘send’ and turned the phone upside down. All he wanted to do was sleep, but he wasn’t quite sure that he would get to that any time soon.  
When he saw the screen light up, even with it facing the mattress, he knew he had been right.

 


End file.
